Greenland’s Melting Glaciers: NASA Finds 21% Greater Ice Loss

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California has released a surprising update on the Greenland Ice Sheet. A detailed analysis of satellite data has shown that over the last 40 years, Greenland has lost about 21% more ice mass than was previously estimated.

Published in the journal Nature on January 17, the research highlights the rapidly increasing retreat of the majority of Greenland’s glaciers. This phenomenon is now seen as a potential threat to future ocean circulation patterns.

Chad Greene, the lead author and a glacier scientist at JPL, explained the significance of glacier calving and retreat, likening it to “pulling the plug out of the fjord,” which accelerates the flow of ice into the ocean.

Alex Gardner, a JPL Cryosphere scientist and co-author of the study, emphasized the comprehensive nature of this research. He pointed out that earlier studies only provided fragmented local data, but this new research offers a systematic, overarching view that has led to significant new insights about the ice sheet.

This extensive study utilized almost a quarter million satellite data points and found that out of 207 glaciers examined, 179 have significantly retreated since 1985. Only one glacier showed minor growth.

The findings revealed that the Greenland Ice Sheet has lost around 1,140 billion tonnes of ice mass, with most of the loss occurring below sea level in the fjords along Greenland’s edges.

While this loss of ice does not directly contribute to sea level rise, it could have significant implications for ocean circulation. The study indicates that the increased influx of freshwater into the ocean from the additional ice loss could affect the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. This circulation is a crucial part of the global ocean conveyor belt, which influences weather patterns globally and impacts ecosystems, as noted on NASA’s website citing recent studies.